Lawyers for the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, Eric Dubin, left, and Steven A. Fink, hold a news conference Thursday to rebut, with surveillance video evidence, the allegations made by former bouncer Michael Reeves. Reeves said he heard the phone call that complained of transient Kelly Thomas; he alleges that the call was bogus and he lost his job fighting it. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

FULLERTON – Video from a restaurant security camera shows Kelly Thomas walking between parked cars minutes before the confrontation with police that led to his death.

That scene, and a former restaurant employee's testimony in a taped deposition, were shown publicly for the first time Thursday at the SlideBar Rock-N-Roll Kitchen. Together, they support the SlideBar's case in a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed by the former employee, the establishment's lawyer said.

Michael Reeves, a bouncer fired from the SlideBar in September 2011, claims in his suit that manager Jeannette DeMarco falsely contended that Thomas was breaking into cars during her call to a police dispatcher.

Reeves has claimed he was fired because he cooperated with the district attorney's investigation into the Thomas death.

The call that July 5, 2011, night drew officers to the Fullerton Transportation Center, where the confrontation with the mentally-ill transient turned violent. Thomas died five days later, leading to criminal charges against three former officers.

"I would never want anything to happen to Kelly or anybody else for that matter," DeMarco said Thursday. "I reported something I saw that was suspicious, and that was basically it."

DeMarco had been watching Thomas weaving in between cars, looking through car windows and pulling door handles for up to four minutes before calling police, said Eric Dubin, the SlideBar's attorney.

Reeves' suit alleges that SlideBar owner Jeremy Popoff had a standing order to do "anything necessary to get Kelly Thomas away from the SlideBar." Popoff has heavily disputed this.

In the videotaped deposition Oct. 9, Reeves said DeMarco was "standing right next to me" when calling the police and that Thomas was really doing nothing more than "picking up cigarette butts. ... She never went out to the parking lot. ... We were both looking at the same vantage point."

However, the split-screen video shown Thursday shows Reeves standing in the club's entranceway, talking with other employees with his back turned to the Transportation Center parking lot as Thomas, about 40 feet behind him, walks slowly alongside one parked car and then weaves in between two others.

Seconds later, DeMarco, who had been watching Thomas from her car, is seen walking to the entrance while talking on her cellphone.

"The only person who has ever contradicted Jeannette and what she saw was Michael Reeves, who we now know is a fraud," Dubin said.

A recording of DeMarco's call to the police, in which she says Thomas was pulling on door handles, was made public in July.

"I didn't call 911," she said. "It wasn't an emergency. ... There was no urgency in my voice to get the cops down here."

Said Dubin: "Mr. Reeves is nowhere near her when she makes the call to the police. He did not overhear it."

Reeves' lawsuit sparked demonstrations in front of the SlideBar, in which protesters claimed that the business was, in part, responsible for Kelly Thomas' death.

The district attorney received a copy of the SlideBar video Thursday.

"This has nothing to do with the criminal charges (against the three ex-officers)," said Susan Kang-Schroeder, the district attorney's chief of staff.

Reeves' attorneys did not return calls for comments before press time.

Lawyers for the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, Eric Dubin, left, and Steven A. Fink, hold a news conference Thursday to rebut, with surveillance video evidence, the allegations made by former bouncer Michael Reeves. Reeves said he heard the phone call that complained of transient Kelly Thomas; he alleges that the call was bogus and he lost his job fighting it. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ron Thomas, Kelly Thomas' father, listens as Eric Dubin talks about surveillance video taken by the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen's cameras the night Kelly Thomas was confronted by Fullerton police. Dubin says the video refutes the allegations of Michael Reeves, a former SlideBar bouncer, about the behavior of SlideBar employees the night of the confrontation. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Steven A. Fink, attorney for the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, introduces a video of the deposition of former SlideBar bouncer Michael Reeves. Reeves said the restaurant's manager filed a false report against Kelly Thomas; Fink says surveillance-camera footage disputes Reeves' account of the phone call to authorities. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
In a surveillance video taken by cameras at the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen on the night Kelly Thomas was confronted by officers, SlideBar manager Jeanette DeMarco makes a phone call to Fullerton police. Former bouncer Michael Reeves has his back turned and is not in contact with her.
In a split-screen presentation, surveillance videos taken the night Kelly Thomas was confronted by Fullerton police officers show Thomas walking across the parking lot in front of the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, left, and former SlideBar bouncer Michael Reeves, right, with his back to the same scene. SlideBar attorneys said the footage was taken simultaneously. Reeves had said in a lawsuit against the SlideBar that he was carefully watching Thomas while Thomas walked through the parking lot.
Surveillance video, taken the night Kelly Thomas was confronted by Fullerton police officers, shows him walking across the parking lot in front of the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen. This was shortly before SlideBar manager Jeanette DeMarco called the Fullerton police to report Thomas' behavior.
In a surveillance video, taken by cameras at the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen the night Kelly Thomas was confronted by Fullerton police officers, SlideBar manager Jeanette DeMarco, top, makes a phone call to Fullerton police while bouncer Michael Reeves, center right, has his back turned to her and is talking with two other people.
In a surveillance video, taken by cameras at the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen the night Kelly Thomas was confronted by Fullerton police officers, SlideBar manager Jeanette DeMarco, top left, is seen making a phone call to Fullerton police while bouncer Michael Reeves, second from the right, has his back turned to her and is talking with two other people.
Jeanette DeMarco, 30, a manager at the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, made a call to the Fullerton Police Department the night that Kelly Thomas was confronted by officers. DeMarco says she reported Thomas walking through the parking lot and pulling on car door handles because it was suspicious behavior, not because of a company policy to clear out the homeless man. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
During a press conference held at the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, Ron Thomas, Kelly Thomas' father, left, stands next to SlideBar owner Jeremy Popoff and his son. The deposition video of former SlideBar bouncer Michael Reeves is being shown on the screen. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
In a video presented by attorneys of the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, former SlideBar bouncer Michael Reeves answers a question during his deposition. Surveillance video shown by the lawyers appears to conflict with his version of the night Kelly Thomas was confronted by Fullerton police officers.
In a video presented by attorneys of the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, former SlideBar bouncer Michael Reeves ponders a question during his deposition.
During a news conference held at the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, Ron Thomas, Kelly Thomas' father, said he has seen no evidence that shows any wrongdoing by employees of the SlideBar the night his son was confronted by Fullerton police officers. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Eric Dubin, an attorney for the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, leads a news conference to explain the evidence that he believes exonerates the employees of the SlideBar of any wrongdoing related to the confrontation between Kelly Thomas and Fullerton police officers. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Jeremy Popoff, the owner of the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, right, takes questions during a news conference. Popoff says that his restaurant has been targeted by protesters and boycotted by rock bands because of accusations that a bogus phone call from his restaurant brought Fullerton police officers to the area the night Kelly Thomas was beaten and arrested. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Jeremy Popoff, the owner of the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, takes questions during a news conference. Popoff's attorneys presented evidence that they said refutes the accusation that the SlideBar was trying to keep Kelly Thomas away from the area. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The memorial for Kelly Thomas, across the parking lot from the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, was still heavily decorated on Thursday morning. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The memorial for Kelly Thomas, across the parking lot from the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen, was still heavily decorated Thursday morning. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Lawyers for the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen held a news conference Thursday to refute allegations made by former SlideBar bouncer Michael Reeves. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Fullerton Mayor Bruce Whitaker spoke at the news conference held at the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Fullerton Mayor Bruce Whitaker spoke at the news conference held at the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Lawyers for the SlideBar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen held a news conference to rebut the allegations made by former SlideBar bouncer Michael Reeves. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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